Lymph node micrometastasis in stage II distal rectal cancer following neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy.

Objective: The objective was to determine the presence and frequency of micrometastasis in lymph nodes of patients with rectal cancer treated by preoperative chemoradiation followed by curative resection.

Patients And Methods: All 56 patients included were treated with 5-FU and leucovorin plus 5,040 cGy, followed by radical surgery and were diagnosed with stage II distal rectal adenocarcinoma after complete pathological examination (ypT3-4N0M0). Immunohistochemistry was assessed with cytokeratin monoclonal antibody AE1/AE3.